Epidemiology

Nearly 7,000 people around the world become infected with HIV daily (Piot et al. 2008). Globally, there were an estimated 33 million people living with HIV, with about 1.2 million in the United States in 2007. That same year around the world, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections and 2 million AIDS-related deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2008b). Compared with an adult prevalence rate of 0.6% in North America and 0.3% in Western and Central America, the prevalence rate in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2007 was 5%. In the United States, the CDC estimated that approximately 56,300 adolescents and adults were newly infected with HIV in 2006. This translates to a rate of 22.8 per 100,000 persons. There were 135 cases of HIV/AIDS in children under 13 years of age, 41 cases in adolescents ages 13-14, and 1,332 cases in adolescents ages 15-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2008b). In developed countries, the rate of new HIV infections has fallen substantially since the mid-1990s. This is primarily due to the effectiveness of HAART therapy, earlier detection methods, and more widespread preventive measures to slow the transmission of HIV/AIDS infection.

Today HIV infection affects people of different races disproportionately, with women of color being the fastest-growing demographic group infected with HIV; data from the 2005 census show that, combined, African American and Hispanic women represent 24% of all U.S. women. However, African American and Hispanic women accounted for 82% of the estimated total AIDS diagnoses for women in 2005 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2005; McDavid et al. 2006).

Vertical or mother-to-child transmission is the primary route of infection for infants. Due to HIVpositive pregnant women receiving antiretroviral therapy, having caesarian deliveries, and avoiding breast-feeding, high-income countries have almost eliminated transmission of HIV from mother to child (Piot et al. 2008). Today the rate of vertical transmission in resource-rich countries is 1%-2% (Townsend et al. 2008).

The prevalence of HIV-related CNS disease in children was estimated at 50%-90% in early studies (Bel-man et al. 1988; Civitello et al. 1993; Epstein and Sharer 1998). By the mid-1990s, the prevalence was estimated to be between 20% and 50% (Blanche et al.

1997; England et al. 1996; The European Collaborative Study 1990; Lobato et al. 1995). The prevalence of encephalopathy has also decreased in children, from 40.7% in children born before 1996 to 18.2% in children born after 1996, as documented in a retrospective study of 146 vertically infected children followed at one institution. The study documented that the prevalence of progressive encephalopathy decreased from 29.6% in children born before 1996 to 12.1% in those born after 1996 (Shanbhag et al. 2005). In New York, Chiriboga et al. (2005) also documented a decrease in the rate of progressive enceph-alopathy from 31% in 1992 to 1.6% in 2000.

For many years, scientists have been playing out the ingredients that make breast milk the perfect food for babies. They've discovered to day over 200 close compounds to fight infection, help the immune system mature, aid in digestion, and support brain growth - nature made properties that science simply cannot copy. The important long term benefits of breast feeding include reduced risk of asthma, allergies, obesity, and some forms of childhood cancer. The more that scientists continue to learn, the better breast milk looks.